Chapter 271: This Opportunity Would Not Come Again
Troy, Jafar, and the Elders of the Darkmane Tribe had just wrapped up their morning meeting when they suddenly heard a loud explosion.
"What’s happening?!" one of the Elders shouted. "Are the monsters already here?! Are we under attack?!"
All of them hurried toward the ramparts, intending to better understand the situation.
Yet, once they did, the only thing they saw was a dust cloud in the distance, as well as black smoke rising to the sky.
"N-No, Elder," one of the warriors replied. "S-Something just exploded over there."
Troy and Jafar narrowed their eyes as they looked at the place where something had exploded.
Though, as if waiting for that moment, something soon fell from the sky, only to land several hundred meters away from them.
A loud explosion, followed by a pillar of flames and debris flying in all directions, made the members of the Darkmane Tribe Army subconsciously take cover behind the ramparts.
Only Troy and Jafar remained standing.
They already had a vague idea of the cause behind the explosion.
"It’s from the Fire Catapults, right?" Troy asked.
"Yes," Jafar replied hesitantly. "But... something is different."
Both of them knew how powerful the Fire Catapults were. However, this explosion was at least two to three times stronger than the output of their siege weapons.
It was then that they noticed a Pegasus and a Dread Condor flying in their direction.
A few Raptors also appeared in the distance, which meant that Troy and Jafar were right.
The Aslan Tribe was testing the Fire Catapults. The realization allowed the warriors of the Darkmane Tribe to calm down.
"Let’s go and investigate," Troy ordered.
"Right." Jafar nodded.
A few minutes later, the two arrived at the area where the members of the Aslan Tribe were gathering.
To their surprise, it wasn’t only the Darkmane Tribe who had come to investigate what just happened.
The chieftains of the tribes staying in the Aslan Tribe were also there, alongside Ragnar and Wayne.
"This..." Jafar couldn’t help but look in shock at the mark left behind by the impact of the Fire Catapult.
A twenty-meter-wide crater with a depth of at least seven meters appeared before their eyes.
Even Troy couldn’t help but be surprised. The Fire Catapults were from their tribe, so he was well-aware that theirs weren’t capable of this much devastation.
He instinctively thought that if that kind of attack landed on the walls of Darkmane City, it would have destroyed their wall in just a single hit!
Of course, Troy and Jafar weren’t the only ones reeling from the shock of seeing such devastation.
The other tribes were also looking at it in disbelief.
’Were the Fire Catapults of the Darkmane Tribe always this powerful?’ Hagen thought with a solemn expression on his face.
Even Malik’s face had turned grim after seeing such power, which only came from a single shot.
Two such craters had formed not far from each other. This was the result of testing the modified Fire Catapults, which Daedalus had named Fireshard Catapults.
This name came from the aftermath of the catapult hitting its target.
The stone used as ammunition would burst upon impact, sending sharp stone shrapnel in its surroundings, dealing extra damage.
It wouldn’t be an exaggeration to say that the modified version was at least three times deadlier than the original Fire Catapult.
However, among those who were present, no one knew that this aftermath was only possible because the grimoire that Leone always carried around with him had tweaked the siege weapon of the Darkmane Tribe using the technology from the Sandreaver Tribe.
But even then, the chieftains had their doubts. If the Darkmane Tribe had such a powerful weapon in their arsenal, how had they failed to destroy the walls of the Aslan Tribe?
"What did you do?!" Troy demanded as he looked at Kael, who was riding on Arion’s back while observing the surroundings. "Did you modify our Fire Catapults?!"
"We did," Kael replied without hesitation. "The Fire Catapults of the Darkmane Tribe fall far too short from my Great Chieftain’s standards. Since he is not satisfied, we decided to tweak it a bit. As you can see, this is the result."
The corner of Troy’s lips twitched at those words. Kael’s words had basically implied that the hard work of his people, who had spent years designing the Fire Catapults, was not up to Leone’s standards.
Yet, there was nothing they could say to refute it.
Still, after seeing this result, he couldn’t help but shudder. If this weapon was ever used against them, they wouldn’t stand a chance against the Aslan Tribe.
"I know what all of you are thinking right now," Kael said calmly. "However, we have to focus on the current threat we are facing. These catapults will be our trump cards in this monster stampede, and I’m happy to tell you that we intend to build a hundred of them by today."
Troy and Jafar almost coughed up blood then and there after hearing Kael’s declaration.
Even the Darkmane Tribe couldn’t build a single Fire Catapult in a single day. And they were its original creators.
Yet, Kael casually said that they would make a hundred of them as if they were just picking up rocks from the ground.
Suddenly, Troy’s body shuddered.
If a hundred of these Fire Catapults were made and were used to target the fortress they were currently at, then wouldn’t that mean that they would all be wiped out in a single volley?
’Damn... it.’ Troy subconsciously clenched his fists as he regretted marching his army toward Grimjaw Mountain.
If he simply ignored the Aslan Tribe, none of this would have happened!
"By the way, we call these new catapults the Fireshard Catapults," Kael declared. "Now that we know their range and destructive power, we can finally use them properly in the upcoming battle."
After saying those words, Kael lightly patted Arion’s neck, prompting the Pegasus to fly back toward the fortress.
Rasta, one of the shamans who had tested the Fireshard Catapults, was very satisfied with the result. With that, he followed behind Kael and Arion, who were returning to the fortress of the Aslan Tribe.
"Now you see?!" Troy glared at Hagen and Malik, who still hadn’t made any move to return to the fortress. "He is a very dangerous person! I have to admit that the Darkmane Tribe cannot beat the Aslan Tribe. However, do not think for a moment that both of you are safe. Especially you, Hagen!
"As long as Leone exists, you will not be able to become the Barbarian King of the Borderlands! He is a threat to all of us, so you should eliminate him now while you still can!"
Hagen remained calm on the surface. Though, deep inside, he was far from calm.
The chieftains of the middle-ranked tribes all glared at Troy.
Now that they had witnessed many things while staying at the Aslan Tribe, they already knew that they made the right choice in allying with Leone.
If Hagen really made a move on the young chieftain, none of them would stay idle and watch it happen.
"Your attempt to sow discord is admirable," Hagen finally said after a long silence. "But you’re mistaken about one thing. The Grimhowl Tribe did fail the Aslan Tribe when they needed us the most. That is a debt I have no intention of ignoring. We have dignity to uphold."
Troy’s smile widened. "Then you admit it."
"I do," Hagen replied without the slightest hesitation. "However, alliances are not forged by dwelling on past mistakes. They are forged by proving one’s sincerity. If the Aslan Tribe is willing to give us that opportunity in the future, then we will earn their trust with our actions, not with empty promises."
Troy snorted. "Can you even hear yourself talk, Hagen? What makes you think Leone will ever trust you again? Gundar doesn’t have long to live.
"Once your old frog croaks, whatever goodwill exists between your tribes will disappear. Who would ally themselves with a tribe that abandoned them in their darkest hour?"
What Troy had said was something the middle-ranked chieftains understood very well. Back then, they would be over the moon if the Grimhowl Tribe formed an alliance with them.
However, after seeing the treatment the Aslan Tribe received from the Grimhowl Tribe, the three chieftains finally understood that Hagen was only looking for benefits when it came to alliances.
He was very different from Leone, who invited the middle-ranked chieftains to form an alliance without wanting anything in return.
In fact, there was nothing the three tribes could offer that the Aslan Tribe didn’t already have.
If anything, it was actually the opposite. Leone had everything to offer them, which would make them live better lives.
Soaps, shampoos, and bread were just a few of those things.
Aside from that, now that they had formed an alliance with each other, they had a feeling that if they asked Leone if they could have one or two of their Fireshard Catapults, they believed that Leone would just nod and say, "Take them! I can always make hundreds of them if I want."
"Hagen, this opportunity will not come again," Troy said coldly, not caring if the other tribes were hearing everything that he was saying. "If you return to your tribe and Leone is still alive, you will no longer be able to sleep peacefully at night."
He then shifted his glance toward the people gathered there before returning to his fortress with Jafar.
Troy was very familiar with Hagen’s character.
He was a man of ambition, a man who would do anything to reach his goal.
Now that he had planted the seed of discord in everyone’s hearts, he no longer cared what would happen next.
He decided that after they survived the monster stampede, he would return to the Darkmane City and change his plans.
He and Jafar would lay low for a while and plan for their future.
Little did he know that Darkmane City no longer existed.
Hagen watched Troy leave with a calmness that made his sons, Marcus and Elias, feel anxious.
Whenever their father acted in this manner, they knew that he would do something big.
Something that no one would notice unless it was already too late.
